


like a fire in the wilderness.

by jeonstellation



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Avengers, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst, Attempt in Humor, Avengers AU, Doctor Strange!Wonwoo, Fluff, Iron Man!Jihoon, M/M, just an excuse to write Ironstrange!Wonhoon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-05-12 21:22:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19237351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeonstellation/pseuds/jeonstellation
Summary: Maybe, Jihoon needs Wonwoo a lot more than he thought.ㅡOr alternatively, Jihoon as Iron Man and Wonwoo is Doctor Strange.





	like a fire in the wilderness.

**Author's Note:**

> villains are heavily adopted from the cinematic universe.
> 
> ㅡ thank you to miss mon for the beta-help!  
> and thank you kak sashi, for always rooting for this silly idea of mine

 

It’s a chilly Wednesday and a perfect time for Jihoon to devour the instant foods he can get from the minimart near his university building. He’s perfectly capable of ordering a table in a five star restaurant, of course—but there’s something that only instant ramyeon and rice and some microwave-heated side dishes can offer to him. Comfort and simplicity, he guess. His life is complicated enough for him after his transformation to Iron Man.

_It was when his heart failing to help him live, abandoning the body of a five year old Jihoon spasming in his father’s embrace. Who knew that the owner of leading technology industries worked along with an underground organization that recruits heroes? Heroes, of all the things. Jihoon didn’t believe in them until he became one. His father gave him a second chance, creating an arc reactor as the substitute of Jihoon’s poor, dying heart. And now, he’s the Iron Man that everyone cheers on when he flies through the city to beat the villain._

He likes to eat in the outdoor table, enjoying the night breeze with tons of food he can buy without batting eyelashes. Jihoon scrolls through his Twitter, mouth busy chewing the instant rice and was about to pick his third katsu from the cheap plastic plate when a loud bang alarms him. It comes from the alley not far from his position. There’s something bright like circular electric sparks in a few seconds, before the alley goes pitch black again. Jihoon puts down his phone and immediately runs his thumb’s pad on the surface of his watch to press a button. The watch forms ripples and changes into a shape of iron gloves covering Jihoon’s slender hand,  the buzz of newly activated laser breaks the night’s silence.

Jihoon squints, taking in a form of human shape stumbling out from the dark alley and making his way out to the street. He stands up, gloved hand directed to the dark alley as he looks at someone—a young man?

 _A young man around your age_ , Jihoon can hear Woozi, his personal AI, confirms through the earpiece. He guesses it must be robbery, or bullying. When he is about to reach out, the stranger lifts one hand in a dismissal wave.  Jihoon knows how to respect someone else’s dignity, so he stays put and watches the young man making his way closer to him. He asks Woozi to scan their surrounding just to make sure nothing evil tailing after.

When the stranger reaches his table, Jihoon is quite taken aback. He knows him.

“What does the son of Lee Industries do out here, eating instant foods when he can get the best dinner in the whole city?” His voice is surprisingly deep, a little bit scratchy as if he had been talking nonstop for the last hour.

Jihoon says defensively, “Instant meals taste better sometimes.”

They remain silent until he speaks up in a weary tone, “You didn’t see where I came from, right?”

That makes Jihoon frowns, staring at this stranger in a curious manner. If he’s not wrong, this is Jeon Wonwoo, the med faculty’s star student. The one that everyone calls a prodigy—not  that different from Jihoon’s very own given title. They do not necessarily know each other, but his friend Soonyoung talks a bit about Wonwoo so Jihoon knows him in a way. As for himself, he’s the hero in iron suit—of course everyone knows Jihoon, and that might include Wonwoo too.

“Nope,” Jihoon says, feigning a nonchalant tone. “Just saw you stumbling on that trash bin. Is that what gave you the cuts and limping leg?”

“The duty of being a hero, huh? Checking up a civillian like me.”

It makes Jihoon snorts. He drops back to his chair, reaching for the Coke and sipping it calmly, “I would just ignore the cuts on your pretty face because you talk accusingly about me. But well, that’s partly true.”

The stranger—Wonwoo smiles at that, a friendly one and Jihoon supposes he might be not so bad. “Thank you, Ironboy. But I’m all good, I was just unfortunate to encounter something that wasn’t in my vision.”

Jihoon raises his eyebrows at the statement, completely giving Wonwoo a judging look as he jerks his chin at the scratch on his arm and face. “I understand you have such a big pride to protect, but seriously, you look—awful.”

He instantly notices the look on Wonwoo’s face though. It’s like a recognition, acknowledging someone else’s hardships in one particular way. They barely know each other, this is their first conversation yet Jihoon is sort of getting the vibe that Wonwoo doesn’t look at him in a way someone looks at a hero. He looks at Jihoon like they’re both shouldering the same burden. _Like they’re friends who has the same path to go through_. It’s weird, Jihoon never has the urge to open his mouth and just pour out what has been bothering his sleep or things that haunt his dreams. It’s started to get _really_ strange.

Wonwoo throws him a secret smile before lifting up his hands to make a circular motion and sparks come out from nothing, forming an interdimentional portal. Jihoon can clearly see the typical room through the hole, Wonwoo’s room most likely— _what the actual fuck is happening?_ Wonwoo reaches for his wallet and waves it in front of Jihoon with a smile before closing the portal in a zap, “Don’t worry, I’m all good. Anyway, the food’s on me.”

Jihoon gapes, pointing his chopsticks at Wonwoo as he stutters, “What are you? What kind of tech—“

“I’m a sorcerer. In training, but still, a sorcerer,” Wonwoo proceeds to rip off a package of new chopsticks and steal one of Jihoon’s katsu. He chews the meat calmly, as if he’s expecting Jihoon to throw some questions.

“What did you just do? Magic? Like you can pull out a rabbit from the hat?”

It’s Wonwoo’s turn to snort, “Unlike you who fight off physically existing villains, I’m protecting our reality from interdimentional villains, Ironboy.”

Jihoon frowns at that, “I don’t understand.”

Magic is something that unexplainable and Jihoon hates that. There’s always a trigger, a catalyst that causes something to happen. He studies a lot of things and it always makes sense in the end, always a puzzle that Jihoon can solve. Magic, somehow, never makes sense yet now he’s witnessing the proof that it does exist. He’s just not ready to see something that is out of his reach.

“Some things are meant to be left off without explanation. Like no one would understand how you can live for years with the arc reactor on your chest if you let the world know,” Wonwoo points at the hidden reactor on Jihoon’s chest. People seems to think that it’s just his suit’s accsessory, while the truth is, Jihoon’s life depends on it. “It just happens. Magic exists.”

“How did you know? About me,” Jihoon goes a little rigid, his eyes alert. He doesn’t like it when someone prods into his past, especially a person he just met.

“Med student, remember? I have accsess to almost all the information of medical cases for study purpose. And on another special note of how I can read your file, my dad was the apprentice of the doctor who’s involved in your life-risking surgery, with your dad.”

“So? You’re going to use it as a blackmail and blow this story out?” Jihoon leans back on his chair, staring at Wonwoo with a piercing gaze. He gets used to face people threatening him, and he’s good at confronting them back—though his father says it always ends bad for him.

“There’s no fun at that. I just can’t believe I finally meet the person behind all those ironsuits.”

“And what? You’re going to ask me to keep your secret safe in return?” Jihoon offers in a nonchalant tone. It’s both irritating and amusing to see someone talk back to him.

Wonwoo shrugs nonchalantly, “You can do that. Or tell everyone, and see if someone believe you when you say I’m a sorcerer.”

Jihoon remains silent until he laughs airily, “Fair enough, Jeon.”

Wonwoo laughs along and winces when he feels the cut on his cheekbone reopened.

“Can you do some magic tricks to heal that?” Jihoon prompts, earning a smile across Wonwoo’s face.

“No, magic cannot be used for individual purposes. I’ll let my body heal itself.”

“Good moral compass,” Jihoon picks the last bite of his katsu before he rummages through his backpack and pulls out a band-aid. He almost shoves it to Wonwoo’s face. “Use this. It helps me a lot when I’m a little clumsy in the workshop.”

Wonwoo accepts it with a small grin, staring at the Iron Man pattern printed on the band-aid.

He means it, though. There’s not much people who have power, leaving a few matter just as it is without abusing their power. Jihoon scans the sorcerer—God, it’s weird to say that—in front of him, musing that somehow having a company to talk isn’t so bad.

He should stop thinking like that. They just crossed path once, and maybe it’s the last one. Being hero means not getting too close to someone, or else they’ll be the bait for danger.

(But Wonwoo is a sorcerer. Danger would be the thing that he faces everyday, right?)

Jihoon recognizes a black Rover just stopped in front of the minimart, so he awkwardly gathers his backpack while stealing glances at Wonwoo. “My ride,” he mumbles, nodding in acknowledgement at Wonwoo with a slight smile. “Thanks for the dinner.”

“My pleasure,” Wonwoo answers casually, waving his hand at Jihoon who scurries away from the table.

“Is he still staring at me?” Jihoon asks Woozi as he walks towards the car.

 _Yep—and he just step_ _ped into a portal, sir. Dissapear, zip, nothing_ , Woozi confirms with a static voice and Jihoon immediately turns around to find the table unoccupied, empty food packages scattering across the surface.

That was one hell of a strange man, indeed.

 

۞

 

“Sorry, I’m late.”

Jihoon mentally wincing as he feels his classmates eyes fall on him, taking in his messy appearance and a split lip, he can see everything just seems clicking inside their head. Lee Jihoon, the Iron Man, still has to protect the town even if it means he’s going to get late to the class. He shrugs his varsity jacket back properly to cover the newly forming bruise on his shoulder before taking the first empty chair that he see.

He takes a deep breath, shuddering slightly as his ribs screaming in pain thanks to the little trouble before his last class for today. Jihoon takes out his LeePad and starts focusing back to the  lecture. Pain can wait, he still needs to graduate with a good mark to repay what his dad did for him years ago.

Jihoon’s life has  never been the same again ever since he got the arc reactor strapped permanently on his chest. His dad told him that he’s now given a second life, to help the world back to the way it is and protect the defenseless. And Jihoon, naturally a strong-willed child since he was born, taking in what his dad taught him as a mantra to keep him going. But life’s a bitch. When Jihoon feels everything has taking a toll on him, he cannot do anything but to swallow the bitterness. Everytime he feels the need to lean on someone, Jihoon immediately throws away the thought. He can’t afford to lose anyone after his own hero—his dad who got his life stolen by a villain’s bullet, leaving Jihoon gathering  his shattered heart alone.

It takes years for Jihoon to get his life back. Rolling to the university and taking double majors, one of them is finished by now; also taking care of Lee Industries that his father built from zero. All he did by himself, so why does he bother to long for comfort from another figure now?

The rest of hours went in a blink. And now that his duty of being honorable college student is done for the day, Jihoon thinks it would be nice to go back to the Tower and just, sleep until his heart content with it. _Fuck villain alarm_ , he says to himself as he shoves the pad haphazardly into his backpack. _I’m going to get a good rest because I deserved it_.

Jihoon takes his buzzing phone out from his pocket only to see the screen displaying Soonyoung’s chaotic text mixed with exaggerating emojis, asking him to come to the university’s big field so they can walk back together—Soonyoung lives in a dorm a few blocks away from their university and sometimes he asks Jihoon to have a short walk home, before his chaffeur Bumzu picks him up.

Soonyoung greets him with a wide smile as Jihoon walks to the bleachers. He pulls the shorter into a friendly headlock, eventually releasing him with a shrieking laugh after Jihoon threatens to expose his embarassing drunk video to Junhui (Soonyoung has been harboring crush on Jihoon’s personal assistant. The Iron Man himself doesn’t need a long time to put it together and now he’s using Junhui to refrain Soonyoung from doing anything stupid).

“What’s up today, Ji?” Soonyoung asks as they start to walk, pointing at the cut on Jihoon’s lip.

“Stupid people trying to rob the bank,” Jihoon mutters, falling into steps beside Soonyoung. “Couldn’t take anything before I came though.”

“Of course, they wouldn’t have the chance to go against Iron Man,” Soonyoung’s face shifts easily into a carefree grin, Jihoon wishes he can have that ability sometimes. “You kick names, take ass.”

Jihoon’s laugh is loud this time, “What the fuck—it’s ‘Kick ass, take names’, you illiterate being. How are you gonna catch up with Junhui with your stupid brain?”

Soonyoung just laughs along, seems content making Jihoon relax after a long day. “You’ll help me, riiight?” he coos, trying to pinch Jihoon’s cheeks and gets dodged almost instantly. “Besides, Junhui wouldn’t mind a little bit silliness if he’s already charmed by my existence itself.”

“Fuck off,” Jihoon bites without a heat. “He’s not even aware of your existence. Remember when you were there next to me when Junhui came and picked me up for a meeting? He’s not even looking at you.”

“Pain’s a friend, Jihoonie,” Soonyoung grimaces, nudging Jihoon’s shoulder playfully. He stops mid-sentence to fish out his phone, reading an incoming chat and immediately rummages through his bag. “Shit, I forgot to hand the mixtape CD to Chan!”

“Who’s on Earth is still using CD, Soonyoung?” Jihoon frowns, watching Soonyoung franctically tapping a reply. He’s pretty sure it contains a lot of awful typos.

“I do. Anyway, you should get to the main road using the narrow alley next to my dorm’s building, the lanlord’s getting half of the dorm in maintenance so he got the usual street blocked,” Soonyoung pats him on the shoulder as he runs back to the university’s direction.

Jihoon snorts, watching Soonyoung running as fast as he could until he dissapears from his view. He taps on his earpiece and greets his AI, “Wooz, tell Bumzu to pick me up on the main road instead.”

‘ _Okay, sir. Oh, and the alley is safe to go through._ ’

Jihoon grins before turning to the alleyway, “Thanks, Woozi.”

He’s thinking about who should he pick for a starter in his Pokemon game once he’s back at the Tower when a circular spark appears to his side and Wonwoo step out, completely clueless that both him and Jihoon don’t have time to dodge. They collide with a loud ‘Oof!’, half of Wonwoo’s belongings fall out from the box on his hands.

“Shit, sorry—“ Wonwoo grimaces, finally realizing that it’s Jihoon. “Thought no one will use this alley.”

Jihoon rubs on his sore arm, eyes completely glued to the residue of sparkly magic portal that Wonwoo just conjured. He shifts his gaze back to Wonwoo and scowls, “It’s fine.”

Wonwoo scoots down to pick up his notebooks and stationeries. “Tablo-hyungnim said pick the alleyway to make safe portals. Turns out I face the biggest threat out of everything, the Ironboy himself.”

Jihoon rolls his eyes before spotting a scattered paperworks near his feet. He picks them up and drops it on Wonwoo’s box. “Moving in to the new place?” he prompts.

“Yeah, my mentor in the Sanctum wants me to have a life outside training,” Wonwoo pats the dusts off from his jeans before standing straight with the box back in his arms. “And the rent here is in a good price. You’re going back home?”

Jihoon answers with a curt nod, making a mental note that Wonwoo is a few good taller than him and it kinda makes him feel itchy. “Was thinking of which starter I should pick for my Pokemon team when you crashed into me,” he says nonchalantly.

If Wonwoo were a cat, his ears would’ve perk up at the mention of Pokemon. His smile seems so genuine when he beams back with excitement. “You can pick anything but Charmander. Fire might seem like the strongest element but he’s actually not that good for your starter. Maybe try something like Pikachu, you know—cute but dangerous?”

Jihoon doesn’t miss the mischiveous glint on Wonwoo’s eyes when he says the last sentence.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Doctor Strange,” Jihoon waves him off dismissively only to find Wonwoo’s lopsided grin grows even wider.  “What? You’re _strange_. And a doctor, soon-to-be doctor—“

“You know what, you don’t seem so closed off like those magazines said about you,” Wonwoo says, offering him a friendly smile instead. “Just wipe that scowl away and you’re ready for a new friend.”

“You mean _you’re_ the new friend, from all the people? Aren’t you a little obsessed with me?”

“Who doesn’t get obsessed with the brave hero Iron Man? Even villains do,” Wonwoo grins at his own joke, prompting Jihoon to do the same.

Wonwoo is halfway explaining about his own Pokemon team when they walk out from the alley—alternating between discussing the game and convincing Jihoon about one thing: “Yes, Jihoon. A sorcerer doesn’t get banned from using technology. I’m perfectly capable of using it, especially in games”. As Jihoon expected, Bumzu’s familiar vehicle is already waiting for him. So naturally, he waits for Wonwoo to say goodbye first. He’s never been good at ending a proper conversation after all—scratch that, Jihoon’s never been good at talking to someone else without pissing them off.

“Let me know your pick when we meet again,” Wonwoo says casually, a slight smile appearing in his face.

Jihoon nods at that, before muttering a small ‘bye’ and goes inside the car.

“A friend?” Bumzu asks him from the rearview when Jihoon closes the door. “He seems nice.”

“You always say that to everyone who throws a smile on me,” Jihoon leans back to his seat, fishing out his phone to start the Pokemon game. “He’s just an aquaintance.”

Jihoon stares at the screen for a second, before he presses the pick button.

Maybe he’ll take Pikachu this time.

 

Later that night, Jihoon indulges himself in a long sleep for hours. When he wakes up at midnight and pads to the kitchen before his stomach chews itself, he finds a box of cold pizza in the counter. _Must be Bumzu_ , Jihoon thinks as he stacks them into a plate before shoving it to the microwave. He scrolls on his phone while waiting, bare feet tapping on the cold floor.

There’s one new chat from unknown ID somewhere between Soonyoung and Junhui’s.

A screenshot was sent to him. It’s a picture of the same Pokemon game he played earlier today, the sender’s username is written boldly at the corner.

‘Doctor Strange’

Jihoon snorts, unable to contain the laugh. He types back an instant reply before tapping the send button.

_Jihoon Lee_ _∙_ _00:45_

**_I pick Pikachu as my starter. Are you happy now?_ **

_JWW_ _∙_ _00:47AM_

**_Very. Hope you don’t mind that I got your ID from Soonyoung._ **

_Jihoon Lee_ _∙_ _00:47AM_

**_It’s fine. Proves my point that you’re obsessed with me._ **

_JWW_ _∙ 00:48AM_

**_Only to indulge your ego, Ironboy._ **

_Jihoon Lee_ _∙ 00:50AM_

**_Flattering. Good night, strange._ **

Jihoon has a perfectly fine sleep for the rest of the night, the pleasant thought of having a decent midnight conversation tucked on the back of his mind.

 

۞

 

‘ _Sir, movement on the roof_ ’

Jihoon’s body goes alert, eyes scanning the roof of Lee Industries warehouse. He’s on his hunting mode: staying hidden in the blind spot and standing perfectly still. Ready to pounce on the prey.

The news about someone stealing Lee Industries’ weaponry— _his weaponry_ —has reached his ears since weeks ago. He immediately runs a thorough investigation with Woozi, staying up late to connect every dots of the evidence presented. And it leads him to one person. He calls himself Vulture; yes, the preying bird, only this time he’s preying on something that belongs to Jihoon and it’s completely dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands. Jihoon doesn’t have any idea how he manages to get in to the warehouse. He invented all the security layers for all the company facilities and by no means, easy to breach. So he decides to wait him out in the red spot tonight, Jihoon had enough laying down.

A buzzing sound breaks the silence, followed by a square shape hole suddenly forming in the ceiling. Jihoon squints and his suit intuitively follows his action by zooming in to the ceiling, showing a confirmation that something has altered the steel into _nothing_ and formed a hole wide enough for someone to break in. A small purple stone blocks located on each corners, seems to be the trigger of this altering material hole.

“What is that, Wooz?”

‘ _No idea, sir. Not in the data. Might takes time to find out._ ’

Jihoon scoffs when he sees a man falls into the floor with a loud thud. Vulture doesn’t look that intimidating without his enormous machine wings, only one man to take down and it means an easy task for Jihoon. He watches Vulture grunts a bit before standing up perfectly, eyes scanning tons of weaponry laid ahead of him in a greedy way. It would be easier to shoot him from where he’s standing now, a clean sweep. But Jihoon has been in spotlight ever since he was a kid and that makes the streak of his dramatic side grows a little bit stronger.

“You’re a masochist deep inside,” Jihoon’s voice rings across the room, but not enough to startle Vulture. He steps out from his spot, taking a confident stride to stand across the criminal with a chuckle. “I mean, you know that this is mine yet you still stole them away. You know I’d eventually catch you, right?”

Vulture replies with a rough cough, eyes trained on Jihoon. “I know. I was hoping to see you sooner.”

“My bad to keep you waiting,” Jihoon mock-bows at him. “Stealing my weapons, modifying it and selling them in black market? You should be on the top of my guest list.”

Vulture takes out a gun and Jihoon immediately recognizes it as one of his creation, only the power source had been changed into some glowing purplish stone, the very same stone with the one that makes a gap on the roof. Woozi is still rummaging through datas, promising that it will find the answer within minutes while Jihoon buys the time. Whatever that is, it’s a dangerous one and Jihoon has to take it away from Vulture.

What he doesn’t expect is Vulture taking out a weapon so similar to a handgun, a sly smile decorating his aging face.

“That’s—“

“It’s just an X-ray weapon, Mr. Lee. A little under your expectation, maybe?” Vulture points it out to the ceiling, right to one of the stoneblocks. “But that, is Chitauri Energy Core, Mr. Lee. It was the thing that powered my beautifully designed weapons. I just need a little radiation to transform it into an explosive state, turning this warehouse into a fucking big fireworks that will light the city. And _that_ means, it will also kill you.”

Jihoon grits his teeth. Must have been an extra terrestrial power core stranded on Earth. Another homework to do later, for now he has to worry about his safety.

“So I got choices for you. Walk out through that door and let me have a bit of your toys, or confront me in a battle and we’ll die together,” Vulture’s laugh is so awful it disgusts Jihoon.

“I choose the latter,” Jihoon answers without a beat, shooting right on the man only to miss a few inches but enough to send him tumbling back.

Vulture yells in agony, wiping off the blood on his cheek and shoots Jihoon with his weapon. A few seconds late, Jihoon still manages to activate his shield and the bullet scrapes on the surface. He kicks into the air and the rear jet is on, hovering far above Vulture and his wing-less condition. But the criminal doesn’t seem to waver, he keeps raining Jihoon with his laser weapon. One hits the steel container and it melts. Jihoon groans, more trouble to avoid.

Fighting inside a limited space like this is never good. Jihoon only has a few hiding spot and he can’t barely catch his breath. At least Vulture seems to be out of breath too.

For all Jihoon knows, of course every villain would have something up on their sleeves and Vulture is no exception. Before Jihoon is able to shoot him with his newly designed nanotech laser, Vulture throws an object to his direction. It catches Jihoon off guard when the unidentified object expands into a steel claw, wrapped tightly around his whole body before sending him tumbling into the ground.

He tries to break free, but it is really tight and a little bit suffocating him.

Vulture spits the blood to the ground, slowly standing up with a chuckle as he points the X-ray weapon to the stones. “One shoot to end all of us. Bye bye, kid.”

Jihoon runs a few plans inside his head for the last few minutes, but it always leads him to a quick death. He huffs, no time to mope around. _Think of something, stupid_.

“Fine! I’ll hand them to you! You can have them and sell them and get rich, old man—“ Jihoon shouts, loud and desperate and it’s enough to catch Vulture’s attention. “No one die tonight.”

Vulture tilts his head, faux-innocence face on. “Hm? I think it would be more fun if we both dead.”

And he fires the X-ray weapon.

Jihoon closes his eyes tight. _Please, please make it quick_ , he winces at his own thought.

Only there’s no explosion.

Jihoon opens his eyes, scanning the surrounding with caution. The warehouse is still intact, nothing exploding. Vulture standing in his same exact spot, gun still hot after firing on the Chitauri stones.

Vulture yells, “What the fuck—“

“I hope you wouldn’t mind a little help from a friend, Iron Man.”

Jihoon lifts his head, drinking in the sight of Jeon Wonwoo standing right beside him and he feels relieved slowly washing through his body. This Wonwoo is different with the one Jihoon encountered on daily basis. He looks imposing, chin held high and his eyes sharp. The way he holds himself is between the borderline of arrogant yet wise. And his outfit—a layered dark blue tunic adorns his lean figure with mismatched red cloak draped across his broad shoulder, high collar accentuates his jawline.

Wonwoo looks—ridiculously attractive.

Jihoon frowns at his own thought, must be a minor head concussion.

He’s grateful as Wonwoo snaps his fingers and the steel claw dissapears into nothing. The disbelief look in Vulture’s face makes him giddy, it’s not the time for him to die just yet.

“What—“

“This is Mirror Dimension,” Wonwoo’s tone is really calm. Jihoon now can see the rippling surface around them, as if they’re entering a huge mirror house. “It looks like the place we’re in, except whatever you do wouldn’t affect the real world. Means, no explosion, Mr. Criminal.”

Not only Vulture, Jihoon is quite shocked too. This is the first time he’s seeing Wonwoo’s real power. A real magic from a real sorcerer.

“But we still be able to kill you,” Wonwoo adds with a slight smile.

Vulture answers with a roar, raining Chitauri bullets towards their direction. Wonwoo is quick, summoning the Shield of Seraphim and protects them with a glowing magic circle shield. Jihoon would probably gapes at that if he has a time, but he pushes the thought away and directs his nanotech lasers at Vulture.

That alone sending Vulture stumbling, crashing into the wall before he turns on his rear jet and make his way to his machine wings. Jihoon missed that thing earlier. Above the gaping hole is the wings, perfectly folded into a cocoon and waiting for its master to return. It roars to life as Vulture settled it on his back.

Jihoon follows after him and soon engages in an airborne chase. They are shooting at each other, flinching when the bullet grazing on their skin. In Jihoon’s case, he’s safe inside the suit and he can rain fire freely on Vulture.

What he doesn’t expect is Vulture pretends he runs out of bullets only to throw a Chitauri grenade at him. The explosion’s impact sending one of his rear jet gone cold and Jihoon is now free falling from a few feet. Wonwoo who’s watching them from the ground, is quick to conjure a shield to cushion his fall. Right after he’s sure that Jihoon’s alright, his hands move fluidly to casts a spell and summon a streak of connecting energy beams, blasting Vulture right in his chest and damaging his machine wings altogether.

Check mate.

Vulture slams into the ground with a loud cracking voice. His wings are short-circuited in an instant, electrifying its owner and rendering him unconscious.

Wonwoo huffs, breaking the Mirror Dimension spell then runs towards Jihoon.

“Fucking old man—“ Jihoon grunts, opening his iron mask and breathes deeply. “I think I sprained my wrist, fuck. Hurts.”

Jihoon is downright annoyed when Wonwoo laughs at his words. He has the audacity of laughing at an injured hero at this critical time?

“Just a sprain, Jihoon,” Wonwoo helps him to sit, steady hand on his back. The contact is sending chills to the back of Jihoon’s head and the fact that Wonwoo’s now scanning his condition with an intense gaze doesn’t make it less easier. “We should send someone to take him to the jail before I take you back.”

“Wooz already on it,” Jihoon winces as he takes Wonwoo’s hand as a leverage for him to stand up straight. “Why would you take me back?”

“Because you’re a drama queen who exaggerates a wrist sprain. Who knows you’ll scream your head off when you find out you’ll have a pimple on your nose?”

Jihoon unconsciously touches the tip of his nose, in the same time as Wonwoo says, “Boop.”

“The hell—“ Jihoon is so ready to kick the sorcerer’s non-existent ass but Wonwoo beats him first as he conjures an interdimentional portal. He blinks a few times, taking in the interior of Lee Tower inside the magic circle.

“After you, Ironboy,” Wonwoo bows at him, a playful smile painted across his face.

Jihoon grunts, striding in big steps into the portal and basking in the warmth of the Tower a second after. He taps the button on his wrist, watching the iron suit shrinking into the arc reactor. The young CEO takes no time to plop down across the comfy couch before stretching his body like a cat.

Wonwoo kneels beside him, doesn’t even ask Jihoon’s permission to examine his sprained wrist.

The first thing that Jihoon notices, there’s a streak of white hair on each side of his head. How can he did not notice that when they met weeks ago? It’s _strange_ like the rest of him, but maybe it’s a sorcerer thing. He also notices Wonwoo seems to be genuinely concerned about his wrist ( _Wasn’t he said it was just a sprain? Why would he be so worried about it?_ ). And Wonwoo is quiet when he’s working. Jihoon remembers that he doesn’t banter around with the villain like he always does.

“Why do you have to wear such a silly costume?” Jihoon prompts, breaking the silence between them.

“It’s not a costume. It’s my battle armor as the Master of Mystic Arts.”

“Master of what? I thought you’re still in training.”

Wonwoo shrugs nonchalantly, “I’m afraid the exposure of my title will send me into the list of Iron Man’s rival in taking the main job to defend the helpless.”

Jihoon snorts, the urge to flick Wonwoo in the forehead is so strong. “And I thought I had the biggest head and I couldn’t fit it into my helmet.”

It’s a pleasant feeling to hear Wonwoo’s laughter. Jihoon thinks he is probably exhausted for waiting all night long and his senses are tricking him into certain emotion.

“Anyway, sprained,” Wonwoo points to Jihoon’s wrist. “Don’t make it work too much for a few days and you’ll be fine.”

“Alright, doc,” Jihoon can hear his own voice gets slurry. Fatigue starts seeping into his body and the couch feels so comfortable under his beaten up condition. “I’ll listen to you this time.”

“Sleep,” Wonwoo’s voice feel a little bit closer than before but Jihoon has the difficulties to keep his eyes open. There’s something warm against his cheekbone before he heard Wonwoo whispering, “Night, Ironboy.”

 

When Jihoon wakes up in the following morning, there’s a pillow under his head and a blanket draped across his body. He frowns, scanning his surrounding to find the bothersome sorcerer but he was nowhere to found.

He spots a note on the table and picks it up.

**_Don’t overwork yourself today >(_ **

Jihoon doesn’t even realized he lets out a shaky breath, muttering about how stupid Wonwoo was to worry about him. Though a smile manages to sneak up on his face before he gets up to start his day, Wonwoo’s note secured in his hand.

 

۞

 

Fine day, Sunday.

Jihoon takes off his google, listening to Junhui as he runs the schedule for tomorrow, jam-packed after classes as the usual. But there’s nothing for today and that’s enough to make Jihoon smiling.

“Where are you going, then?” Junhui asks, tucking his phone back to the pocket of his khaki pants.

“Dunno,” Jihoon mumbles, fingers tapping on the flat screen to run his newest experiment. “Maybe out for some coffee?”

“I got a date today but I can drop you to your favorite place.”

“A date?” Jihoon’s attention immediately shifts to him. “With who?”

“You act like my father, Ji,” Junhui’s waving his hand in dismissal, a smile playing on his lips. “Just a casual date, why would you be worry?”

Jihoon frowns, thinking that maybe Soonyoung doesn’t have the chance at all. He likes Soonyoung and Junhui. So it will be much better if they date each other. _Since when you have to meddle into their love life, Jihoonie_ , he thinks as his frowns get deeper.

“Because if you got stood up, you’d be moping all day and you can’t work efficiently,” Jihoon shrugs, earning a playful jab from his personal assistant.

“Shut up, I don’t _mope_. Anyway, how are you and the strange boy?”

“Strange boy, ha—his name is Wonwoo and we’re just acquaintances,” Jihoon schools his face to show nothing but a blank canvas, because bringing up Wonwoo to the conversation makes him feel itchy and Jihoon doesn’t like it.

Junhui nods to the statement, but there’s a knowing look on his face. “It’s nice to have more acquaintance, Ji.”

Jihoon shrugs, “Yeah, I’m trying.”

“You sure you don’t want me to drive you somewhere before I go?” Junhui straightens his baby blue shirt, fits perfectly with his charming self and Jihoon kinda hopes his date works this time.

He nods and makes a shoo-ing gesture, “Go and catch some love.”

“You too,” Junhui replies before he gets out from the workshop and disappears upstairs.

Jihoon leans back to his chair, finger absentmindedly rapping on the table. He’s craving for a cup of black coffee and maybe a little walk to the shop across his tower wouldn’t hurt. True that he doesn’t really like going out, prefer to do delivery order or get Bumzu’s help to buy him foods, but he needs a fresh air. He’s been stuck in the workshop since yesterday after all.

He doesn’t bother to change and immediately goes upstairs only to find the lobby nearly empty. The Lee Industries doesn’t make their employees work around during Sunday. He might be a little workaholic, most of time he’s addicted to keep his mind busy 24/7 but that doesn’t mean his employees should follow too.

 The warmth of sun greets him once he’s out on the street. Truly a good day for a little walk before crashing on his bed and sleep like a log.

The coffee shop across his tower is fairly crowded during this kind of time. Most of them are students, considering the location is close enough to a university, working on their papers or stealing some free time between cramming for exam. Their coffee and food are not bad either, he personally is a fan of their tuna sandwich.

Carrying a cup of hot black coffee with no sugar, Jihoon walks around the shop to find an empty spot. There’s plenty of them but he spots a table at the corner, the occupant seems to fall asleep on his seat. He tries not to laugh when he walks closer because well, he recognizes that white streak of hair everywhere.

Jihoon quietly takes a seat across the sleeping sorcerer and sets his coffee on the table before he frowns, stopping himself from whatever he planned to do earlier. It’s probably a bad move to wake him up. What if he is stealing some nap between classes? _I’d be an awful human being if I do that, right?_ Jihoon asks himself, sipping on his coffee carefully.

“Hello, Ironboy.”

“Fucking—!” Jihoon bites his tongue, preventing more curses spilling from his lips. He hisses like an angry cat because 1) his tongue is burning, and 2) Jeon fucking Wonwoo is turning into a ghost?!

He blinks a few times, shifting his gaze between the sleeping Wonwoo in his chair, and the floating, transparent Wonwoo next to his physical body. He looks entirely transparent like a ghost, his lower body disappears into a loop that probably connects him into his body. Jihoon looks around and it seems that he’s the only one who’s aware of this odd occurence.

“What the fuck, Jeon?” he shout-whispers.

“You’re seeing my astral form,” Wonwoo has the audacity to smirk, must be a pleasant sight to see Lee Jihoon utterly terrified. “That’s my physical one, resting. But I can still use my astral form to read stuff I haven’t reviewed for today’s exam.”

“You’re—unbelieveably strange, you know that?” Jihoon clutches on his erratic chest. “And you have the cheat code to have a proper rest but still managed to study and all? I thought I am the most annoying human ever exist but you beat me to it.”

Wonwoo laughs, closing the book on his hand and dissapears into the astral loop. Jihoon’s gaze is focused back on the sorcerer’s body as his eyelids flutter open, staring blankly at Jihoon as he reboots his physical form.

“I crashed here often but didn’t realized that I’m basically one road away from your place,” Wonwoo says, voice raspy as he stares at the looming, tall building across. “I would’ve knock and pay a visit to you.”

“You didn’t know me months ago. And don’t bother to knock, I’m busy.”

“I wouldn’t bother to knock because you’d be here getting coffee sometimes and I can catch you here,” Wonwoo’s grin is so easy it coax Jihoon to smile.

“Like a date then.”

Wonwoo doesn’t answer. He just sips on his lukewarm latte with a secret smile.

“Now that we’re both free and you basically know a lot about me, it’s time for me to interrogate you, Doctor Strange,” Jihoon says, leaning his chin into his propped hand. “So you’re a sorcerer slash med student. You live in the same dorm as Soonyoung—Kwon Soonyoung, dance major and our mutual friend—but you said you’re also training somewhere else?”

“In the Sanctum,” Wonwoo answers. “A base for Sorcerer Supreme, me. We trained ourselves in that place, storing and securing mystical objects. And also maintaining a vast protective shield across the globe which connected with other Sanctums in the world. That will protect Earth from mystic threats, hopefully.”

“We?”

“Me and my mentor, Tablo-hyungnim.”

“Where’s this Sanctum exactly?”

“A few blocks from here. Funny that our lair isn’t really far from each other.”

“Lair—“ Jihoon snorts. “The youngest Master in history, then?” to which Wonwoo answers with a proud grin. “Asshole.”

“You’re not the only genius in this world, douchebag.”

And they fall into more, easy conversations. Wonwoo ordered a carrot cake somewhere in between, sharing the slice with Jihoon as if they have been long-time friends. Funny that Jihoon doesn’t feel awkward at all. He rambles about his newest experiment, with Wonwoo leaving comments here and there. He doesn’t even have to lower his word choice so that Wonwoo would be able to absorb it. The sorcerer understand just fine. An equal to Jihoon’s constantly running brain.

Jihoon bottoms out his second cup of coffee, leaning on his chair as he watches Wonwoo putting the books back on his messenger bag. The taller boy gets up, still engaging Jihoon in a conversation as he follows him out and crossing the street.

“Good luck with the exam,” Jihoon says once they’re standing in the front door of the Tower. “Wait, I’ll take that back. You’ll do well anyway.”

Wonwoo snorts, “I still could use the luck you gave me though.”

“Too bad I’m taking it back, just in case there’s criminal making a fuss tonight.”

“I’m just a portal away,” Wonwoo says and that coax out a laughter from Jihoon’s lips. When it dies down, Jihoon doesn’t miss the look on Wonwoo’s face. There’s a color high across his cheekbones, accompanied by a smile.

“What?”

“Nothing. I’ll better go before I’m late.”

“Nail that exam, strange boy.”

Wonwoo bids him a small good bye before conjuring a portal straight to university’s building, stepping into the magical circle with a wink. Jihoon scoffs at the now empty space, _Show off_.

When Jihoon is about to get in, a sudden realization hits him.

Did Wonwoo just basically walk him back to the Tower? It wasn’t even a date, was it?

 

۞

 

One thing has changed from Jihoon’s daily hero life these days: Wonwoo.

He might not always there to help him catch a terrorist or assist him to lock down a mad shooter lurking on school. But he’s there when Jihoon ran out of plans, when Jihoon is too hot-headed he’s willing to give up his life in order to make justice stand. Wonwoo is there when Jihoon needs someone to share the burden of saving people.

Jihoon must admit that he used to push everyone out from his life, too scared to be attached and break his already damaged heart. Not when he has the possibility to lose their life to danger. But Wonwoo; he gets used to all physical scars, doesn’t waver when the villain corners them. It just takes one look at each other and Jihoon feels it’s going to be okay.

He has been alone for so long and forget how nice it is to have a company.

Apart from being Iron Man and the Sorcerer Supreme, they occasionally meet each other in the university. Exchanging small conversation between free hours or having a lunch in the ramyeon shop tucked at the back of the main park. Sometimes Wonwoo joins the short walk with Jihoon and Soonyoung to the dorm.

They’re _friends_ now. It makes Jihoon itchy.

Tuning out his professor’s explanation for physic laws, he types a question for Wonwoo.

_Jihoon Lee_ _∙_ _11:22AM_

**_You said you were fighting interdimentional threats. Mythical beings, I assume. So why are you fighting criminals with me for these past few weeks?_ **

_JWW_ _∙_ _11:14AM_

**_They’re all threats, if you’re aware of that fact._ **

**_Focus on the class, Hoonie_ ** **_._ **

_Jihoon Lee_ _∙_ _11:14AM_

**_Shut up. But they’re not wrecking havoc with magic._ **

_JWW_ _∙_ _11:16AM_

**_I wish you could’ve just be grateful to have me fighting with you._ **

_Jihoon Lee_ _∙_ _11:16AM_

**_Thank you, asshole :D_ **

_JWW_ _∙_ _11:17AM_

**_You’re welcome, douchebag :)_ **

**_I don’t need reasons to help you. We both know it feels a little lighter when we work together._ **

_Jihoon Lee_ _∙_ _11:18AM_

**_What a sap._ **

**_But Wonwoo? Thank you, really._ **

Just like Wonwoo said, maybe some things are meant to be left off without explanation.

 

۞

 

Jihoon is about to devour his late brunch when Woozi alerts him of a distress call.

‘ _Unidentified spaceship, most likely belongs to extra-terrestrial colony_.’

“What?” Jihoon furrows his eyebrows. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Where?”

‘ _1717A B Street, sir._ ’

He gives a longing look to his untouched food before grumbling, taking a short run out from university’s cafetaria. Jihoon taps on his hidden arc reactor and relishing in the hum of his iron suit slowly encasing his body. A few pair of eyes seems to catch his transformation, gasping and whispering about Iron Man. Jihoon grins at that.

Alien invasion used to be on the last page of Jihoon’s danger situation list. Now that he see the proof himself—a huge ring-shaped spaceship lands in the street, ruining the buildings around it by the wind pressure and people are running away from the scene. Jihoon’s hovering above, scanning the condition to weigh his move.

“Wooz, evac anyone in the street. Notify the 911 as well.”

‘ _On it_.’

A bright magic shield suddenly makes an appearence not far from the ship. _Wonwoo?_ Jihoon squints to get a better look. No, it’s someone else, but he wears tunics similar to Wonwoo’s. He looks at his surrounding, taking in a sight of a symbol etched in one particular round window of a tall mansion. It’s the same symbol that Wonwoo has on his elbow, tattooed permanently into his fair skin.

It must be the Sanctum. What makes the aliens so eager to invade this place?

Jihoon finds his target: a huge, awful looking creature in a black armor carrying a scythe-like weapon; currently attacking with physical blows and seems to have more advantage than his human opponent. He fires a few bullets from his shoulders, grinning as he hears a painful roar from below.

He lands on the street and takes in clearer view of his enemy. It is indeed a strange creature, but perfectly functioning just like human. Only more on the bad side. Jihoon listens on Woozi’s quick explanation of his enemy as he helps the sorcerer to stand and runs a check up almost immediately.

“What kind of name is Cull Obsidian?” Jihoon mumbles at no one. “What happened?” he shouts, wishing the constant beep of cars died down so he can focus better.

The sorcerer conjures a shield in front of them, “They want the Stone!”

“What stone?”

He doesn’t manage to answer Jihoon’s question. A fire hydrant close to them explodes and the water goes straight to blast the sorcerer, sending him tumbling away and unconscious.

Jihoon marches in with his activated iron shield, sucssessfully blocked Cull’s sycthe and shoot him on the stomach. He staggers a few steps back and Jihoon notices that he’s not alone. There’s another alien standing far in the back, looking calm with his hands intwined in an almost formal manner.

So much for a trouble.

He faintly hears a swooshing sound behind him, grinning when Wonwoo takes the spot next to him.

“Took you so long.”

“Please, I was having a decent nap.”

Jihoon can hear him in his usual joking tone, but his face says otherwise. His eyebrows furrowed, eyes train sharply at their enemies. Woozi confirms a high level of adrenaline on Wonwoo’s body, along with norepinephine.

Wonwoo is _anxious_.

“What’s the deal here? He said something about a stone,” Jihoon prompts.

“Time Stone. They want it,” Wonwoo says through gritted teeth. He casts a spell, summoning the Bolts of Balthakk. Hot, flaring energy beams strikes right at Cull’s gut and sending him flying back for the second time towards his companion. But the smaller one just waves his hand calmly, an unseen force kicks his big friend aside.

“Telekinetic power, huh?” Jihoon grumbles, listening to Woozi confirming that the alien does have a name. _Ebony Maw? Sounds like a girl’s name_.

Wonwoo casts another spell and the wind moves along with his hands, clearing the street and now Jihoon can see better at their enemies.

“Hear me and rejoice,” Maw’s voice reverberates across the street. “Our master Thanos has a noble aim to make this unbalanced world tipped back to its course. Therefore, we’ll need one of the Six Stones that you have in posession. Give it to us and we’ll spare your lives.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about but please, the Earth is very much at peace before your arrival,” Jihoon bites back aggresively. “Tell your Master to stay away from us.”

“You will regret your words, Metal Kid.”

Jihoon takes a look at Wonwoo, who raises an eyebrow with an amused look. “Shut up, Wonwoo—I’m Iron Man, you dipshit, get out of here!”

“Then I’ll take it with force,” Maw says calmly.

“I’d like to see you try.”

“You exhaust me.”

 _Same here, Squidward_ , Jihoon grumbles as he fire the Smart Missiles at Maw’s direction. He curses under his breath as Maw casts a telekinetic shield, the missiles explodes far in front of him and barely gives him a scratch.

“Hold him a second for me, please,” Wonwoo says, earning a curious look from Jihoon as the sorcerer runs back to his now conscious mentor. Jihoon can hear Wonwoo’s urging tone, telling his mentor to go and warn the other Masters to get the stone safe.

_What kind of stone it is?_

Jihoon watches Wonwoo’s mentor dissapears into a portal, before Wonwoo’s voice reaches his ears.

“Jihoon, watch out!”

He grunts as Cull’s chain claw got a tight grip on his mid-section, trapping his hands along. Cull jerks the chain to the opposite way and pulling Jihoon altogether, slamming him through multiple buildings. Jihoon lands into a big tree with a loud crack, ignoring the pain on his back to use the cooling beam on his chest and managed to freeze the chain. He breaks free from it and take a leap to the air, shooting his lasers at Cull’s direction.

The alien is quick to activate his shield, blocking the red beam with an intangible grunt. Jihoon can only wish he is dumber than he thought. He changes his weapon choice to the Pulse Bolt, both hands directed to Cull’s position and shot a powerful plasma energy. It manages to wound one of Cull’s feet, leaving the giant alien limping and angry.

“Good. Get angry, big boy!” Jihoon shouts.

He activates the repulsor in both of his hands, directing a narrow concentrated beam at Cull as he flies closer. A web of cracks decorating Cull’s shield almost immediately, spreading faster than the alien thought would be. Their closing distance adds more damage.

‘ _Better be quick, sir. Your energy is started to ran out._ ’

“Shit—“ Jihoon grunts, pushing more force to the repulsors.

A portal suddenly appears under Cull, sending him falling down into another dimension with rippling reflection-like surface. Jihoon scoffs at this, half-heartedly admits that it is clever to send Cull into the Mirror Dimension and trap him there forever. He gives Cull a finger before the portal closes, only a flying bright sparks remains as the residue.

Jihoon kicks into the air, making his way back to Wonwoo while thinking of a nice way to praise his clever trick back there.

What he doesn’t expect to find is Wonwoo lying helplessly on the cracked asphalt, chest trapped on the weight of a car. Maw is hovering near, controlling unseen force that makes the entire car crushing the sorcerer’s chest. Jihoon can see Wonwoo has one hand above his chest, originally wants to shield himself from the impact but now the bones are cracking under the pressure. The pain written on his face as clear as the day.

_He’s on critical condition, but still managed to save me a problem?_

“Asshole—“ he mutters under his breath, pointing the palm of his hands to Maw’s direction. “Hey, Squidward!”

“Jihoon!”

He watches Wonwoo’s face morphing into horror, wide eyes locking at Jihoon’s direction. In a split second, he feels his chest thumping wildly it makes him gasping. There’s a numb sensation blooming on his stomach. Jihoon looks down to find Maw’s sharp chain blade stabbing him right in the stomach, the tip goes through his armor. A long range weapon, perfect for an accurate kill.

“Won—“ Jihoon chokes on his own spit, losing the control of his body and he can feel his feet slowly gone cold.

Maw still has the audacity to lower him to the ground, leaving Jihoon kneeling to gasp for air.

“I believe if I retract my lovely chain blade, your irritating body will drain out and you’ll die within seconds,” Maw says with the constant calm tone.

“No, don’t!” Jihoon can faintly hear Wonwoo’s shout. “I won’t surrender the stone to you if you kill him.”

“Then don’t test me!” Maw grumbles. “Give me the stone, wizard.”

Jihoon wants to scream, to knock some senses to Wonwoo’s head. Whatever the stone is capable of doing, it isn’t worth to be traded for Jihoon’s life. He’s been through dying one time, Jihoon wouldn’t mind going for the second one.

“Don’t pull your blade out, and I’ll give you the stone,” Wonwoo says between stuttering breaths. He lets out a painful moan when Maw drops the car lower. “No tricks—“

Jihoon’s vision starts to get blurry. He can see  Wonwoo conjuring a glimmering green stone from nothing and giving it up to Maw’s open hand. A choked sob leaves his pale lips.

The alien waves his hand and the entire car crushes Wonwoo on the chest.

A scream filling Jihoon’s hearing senses, shifts into a deafening ringing voice and he loses his consciousness.

 

۞

 

“Hey there, buddy.”

Jihoon groans, forcing his eyelids to open faster but doesn’t work until a few seconds. He stares at Junhui’s weary face and snorts softly, “Sad doesn’t suit you, Junnie.”

“Shut up,” he says. “How are you feeling?”

“Awful. I’m in a dire need of a bottle of Coke.”

“You wish,” Junhui rubs his eyelids until the skin goes red. “You’re out for three days. Still making me worry even when your surgery pulled through.”

Jihoon runs his fingers on his stomach, feeling the faint, dull pain still linger.

He swallows thickly before bracing himself to ask, “H-how about Wonwoo?”

Junhui looks at him with his gentle eyes. “No idea. Woozi called 911 and they took you with a chopper. I came minutes later when you already in the ICU. So, I don’t know where he is, Ji.”

“Fucking asshole,” Jihoon mutters, gripping on the blanket a little too tight. “He was crushed by a car but still trying to be a hero and help me. He’s just so annoying.”

“He was just trying to help a friend.”

Jihoon stares blankly at the man next to him, “We’re not friends.”

“You two went to catch bad guys together, got each other’s back. And I’m grateful that he’s able coax you out to play at the PC bang sometimes,” Junhui grins wider as Jihoon shoots him a look. “What? You need sunshine to grow out!”

“Shut up,” Jihoon wants to kick him in the shin.

“I’ll try to find out about him soon, okay?” Junhui gets up from the chair and stretches his body. “Do you want something to eat?”

“Coke, please.”

“No? Alright then, I’ll get myself some food.”

“Okay, mooom.”

Jihoon waits until Junhui’s out from the room before muttering curses under his breath. This is the feeling that he avoids the most: to get attached to someone. He had enough worrying about his life and all the public threatening villains so he definitely doesn’t have one more room to fuss over a stupid sorcerer who gave up something so important for Jihoon’s life.

But he’s gone too far now.

The nagging feeling on the back of his mind keeps driving him into the edge. Magic isn’t something that can be traced by Woozi, so he doesn’t have a choice but to wait for Wonwoo to come by himself.

That is, if he’s still alive.

A new wave of pain washes over Jihoon’s body and settled deep into his chest.

 _Stupid_ , he curses at himself. _What do you expect, Lee Jihoon? You can’t even be friends with fellow hero. You still put Wonwoo through danger and now death’s lurking around him. You should’ve save yourself long before this._

But in the corner of his mind, Jihoon still have faith in Wonwoo. Weak, but it’s still there.

His body is about to shut down again when a portal opens in front of him. A man he saw on that damned day—Wonwoo’s mentor—steps out from the circle and offers him a timid smile. Jihoon pulls himself straight, all the fatigue dissapear in an instant.

“Hello, Mr. Lee. Feeling better?” he says, hands folded on his back. “I haven’t properly introduced myself. I’m Tablo, Wonwoo’s teacher.”

Jihoon only manages a nod. His brain is too busy to prepare himself for the upcoming news. _Please_ , he pleads to no one, _Just one good news_.

“How was Wonwoo?”

“Alive,” he says curtly and Jihoon can breathe easier. “But needed time to recover.”

“What happened?”

“3 stainless pins in the bones, torn ligaments and nerve damage in his crushed hand,” Tablo recites it flatly but it still makes Jihoon visibly wincing. “He’s not waking up yet—hopefully soon, but he’s under our care in the Sanctum. He’ll recover eventually.”

“How long?”

“We have no idea. But considering how strong and stubborn he is, Wonwoo will pull through. Though there might be a permanent impact. Sometimes we got difficulties to follow him, he acts like a child toying around the title of Sorcerer Supreme.”

Jihoon can feel himself smiling at that, “Asshole.”

“Exactly. I can assure you he’ll be okay, Mr. Lee.”

“Jihoon is fine,” he bites his lower lip, contemplating whether to ask or not. “He’ll still be able to be a doctor, right? You said he has nerve damage—“

Tablo nods slowly, almost a little hesitant. “It might takes a quite long time to make his hand steady.”

“What about magic? I noticed that hands are the most important in conjuring magic...?”

“It’s the heart that is the most important, Jihoon. Borrowing energy from other dimensions takes a strong heart to be the anchor and the ship altogether. We got sorcerers with less body parts but still perfectly capable of summoning difficult spells.”

“And... do you know why he helped me? Why he gave up the stone to save me?”

“I believe Wonwoo saw something from the multiple alternative futures, it’s one of many advantages of mastering Time Stone. If it meant to happen, we cannot tamper with it and Wonwoo knew what to do,” there’s an expression shifting on Tablo’s face, almost like a proud father. “And I see that you’re important to him, in a way.”

“Um, okay—“ Jihoon finds himself stumbling in his own words. He still has a lot of unanswered questions, but he figures he’ll ask Wonwoo by himself. That way, he has a reason to look forward for their meeting. “Tell him he owe me an apology for being stupid, will you?”

Tablo chuckles at that, “Will be the first thing I told him when he wakes up.”

Jihoon decides he likes this man. “Thank you for letting me know, Tablo-hyung.”

The sorcerer nods before conjuring a portal. Jihoon drinking in the familiar hum of magical spark, red bright hue reflecting in the dim light of his room. He’s storing the odd view into his brain.

Who knows it might be the last time he saw magic if Wonwoo doesn’t wake up?

 

۞

 

_Jihoon Lee_ _∙_ _5 weeks ago_

**_You owe me a bottle of Coke when you woke up, Junhui isn’t giving me any >(_ **

_Jihoon Lee_ _∙_ _3 weeks ago_

**_PC Bang ahjussi was asking about you._ **

_Jihoon Lee_ _∙_ _6 days ago_

**_Yo sleeping beauty, waking up yet?_ **

_Jihoon Lee_ _∙_ _3 days ago_

**_You have no idea how exhausting it was to fight a Sandman._ **

**_A freaking man made with sand???_ **

_Jihoon Lee_ _∙_ _1 day ago_

**_Did you know that Soonyoung is dating Junhui now???????_ **

_Jihoon Lee_ _∙_ _00:09AM_

**_I miss teleporting with your portal._ **

**_Wake up soon, asshole._ **

 

۞

 

Jihoon wakes up to an irregular beeping sound. He immediately pats his bed, blindly searching for his phone to check on the time. It’s just a few minutes past midnight so Jihoon hasn’t slept for so long. He almost forgot he skipped dinner before, dismissing Junhui’s invitation earlier to crash on his bed. _Midnight snack it is then_ , Jihoon thought.

The beeping sound returns when he’s about to step out from his room. Jihoon furrows his eyebrows. “Who is it, Woozi?” he asks in a whisper.

‘ _A guest for you, sir_.’

Jihoon blinks, brain slowly connecting the dots. It isn’t a regular beeping sound. It’s from a video game bot, the trademark sound effect from Tetris game to be precise. No one plays game in that old, traditional device anymore. Except Jihoon knows exactly who’s still doing that in this modern days.

He steps out from his room, feet padding softly in the cold floor until he stops in the living room. There’s a familiar sight of someone sitting in the couch that makes Jihoon feels warm all over despite the night’s chill. He remains quiet, the sound of Tetris echoing across the room a little too loud.

“Hey,” Wonwoo lifts his head to offer Jihoon a smile, before going back to the game device on his hands. “Short nap?”

Jihoon doesn’t immediately answer. He walks closer, examining Wonwoo’s physical appereance. Still the same lanky limbs in ratty black Converse, the same white streak of hair on the side of his head. Still the same person Jihoon saw two months ago.

 But then Jihoon catches it.

The hand that once crushed under the immense weigh Ebony Maw had brought to it. Web of surgery scars spreading across the back of Wonwoo’s left hand. Even the traces of planted stainless pins are still visible. And now he notices that it keep shaking one time or two.

Jihoon feels shitty all of sudden.

“Did you just use magic to get here?” Jihoon’s voice breaks a little. He takes a deep, stuttering breath as he stands next to Wonwoo. It’s a little suffocating if he sits next to him, so he makes a little distance between them.

Plus, he wants to look intimidating.

Wonwoo lifts his head, staring back at him with an easy smile, “What else do you think I can do to breach Lee Industries’ security system?”

“Woozi lets you in, anyway. He would’ve ring the alarm if you were someone else.”

“Well, I didn’t think of that,” he says sheepishly.

“It was you, wasn’t it?” Jihoon breathes, finally allowing himself to believe the things he saw earlier today. “The red energy ribbons who caught Vanko. You helped me.”

Wonwoo _freaking_ pouts at him. “Listen, if I’m going to appear next to you, I bet you’re going to attack me instead. You’ll scream at me and calling me names,” he grimaces. “And I kinda dissapeared on you for months... I just don’t like seeing you fighting by yourself.”

“I’ve been fine during your absence,” Jihoon says in annoyance, folding his arms across his chest as a defense gesture. “I’ve been fine even before I knew you—“

He stops halfway, realizing that it might hurt Wonwoo.

“But it feels better when we work together, right?”

Jihoon stares back at the man in front of him. He built a wall around himself, carefully choosing a few people to be involved. He’s always cautious. But Wonwoo is something else. Present but never bothering, offering advices but never dictating. He’s similar to Jihoon in a way. Two sides in the same coin.

 Wonwoo makes him feel—human. Being with him brings a lot of emotions into Jihoon’s empty chest.

Like a fire in the wilderness, consuming him in the warmth of a companion.

“You’re such a brat,” Jihoon huffs exasperatedly. He’s a little bit surprised when Wonwoo leans forward to rest his forehead on his stomach. He lets him. “I hate you.”

“I miss you too,” Wonwoo says, arms circling Jihoon’s middle in a gentle hug.

“You owe me a pot of ramyeon,” Jihoon says after a beat of silence, hands running on Wonwoo’s hair gently and the latter leans into his touch.

“If you have instant ramyeon, I can make it for you,” Wonwoo straightens himself although he seems reluctant to let Jihoon go. “Midnight snack, right?”

“Midnight snack,” Jihoon affirms, a thin smile finding it’s way to his lips.

Both of them make way to Jihoon’s kitchen and soon enough, the sounds of the clattering utensils mixed with hushed conversations can be heard. Jihoon fills him in for the last months’ occurence and Wonwoo tells him about his recovery in the Sanctum. It feels surreal, to see Wonwoo quietly steal all the mushroom pieces from their shared pot (Jihoon let him, just this once) and hearing his laughter. Wonwoo’s presence now makes him feel something else.

_He has been missing this. Jihoon misses him._

Wonwoo bids Jihoon good night as he settles into the bed, burrowing in the pile of blankets with a promise of another day to spend side by side.

 

۞

 

_“Wonwoo, Wonwoo—stay with me, please—“_

_Jihoon can feel himself visibly shaking but he still pushed through to make his way towards Wonwoo. His hand hovering hesitantly above Wonwoo’s face, the pain surging into his body as Wonwoo let out a desperate cry._

_Then he watches him slip away from life._

Jihoon wakes up with a muffled shout.

He’s gasping for air, filling his lungs with a few ragged deep breaths. His hand instantly goes to his chest to calm the erratic heart. _Another nightmare_ , Jihoon says to himself. _Nothing more than our unconscious side projecting on whatever we’ve been thinking lately._

It’s been a month yet he still can’t erase the fear.

The bed creaking softly when Wonwoo shifts in his sleep. Jihoon almost kick him out, but then he remember _he’s_ the one who invaded Wonwoo’s bed. He stares at the sleeping figure, eyes trained at the rise and fall of Wonwoo’s broad chest. _See? He’s alright, Jihoonie_.

It’s almost a regular occurence now. Jihoon crashes at Wonwoo’s dorm as much as Wonwoo likes to barge into the Tower. When the days are long, Jihoon finds comfort in dominating Wonwoo’s bed and bossing around the owner of the room to get him chinese takeaways across the street. Sometimes they spend hours playing games, shoulders touching and burrowing under one blanket. There are also times when Jihoon carries his papers and takes up space on Wonwoo’s carpeted floor as if he lives there, fingers scribbling equations and explanations.

Same with Wonwoo. Jihoon will find him lounging on his couch, talking with Woozi while he makes toasts for their breakfast. He knows Jihoon’s kitchen better than himself now, though his cooking option never varies from toast to instant ramyeon. But at least Jihoon finds himself away from complaining.

They team up a lot. Magazines and internet articles start to take interest on Doctor Strange, the new companion of Iron Man. Jihoon finds it funny when he sees every pictures those photographers put on their articles: Wonwoo’s face is always blurry. He remembers something Wonwoo said about toying around people with magic, not wanting them to know his full identity yet. So much for not abusing his own power. But Jihoon works well with him, nonetheless.

No longer hesitant, now Jihoon rotates around Wonwoo.

“Hoonie?”

Jihoon snaps out from his reverie, staring back at Wonwoo with a thin smile. “Bad dream, don’t worry. Go back to sleep, Wonwoo-ya.”

Wonwoo gives him a judging look, which isn’t scary at all because he’s not fully awake yet, “No good. Wanna talk about it?”

Jihoon snorts, shifting to take the book close to Wonwoo’s head and throw it to the floor. Wonwoo must be reading before he fell asleep, with Jihoon already drifted into the dreamland next to him. He takes a glance at the digital clock on Wonwoo’s nightstand. It’s the quarter past midnight, the time where Jihoon doesn’t trust his own shadow the most.

His gaze lands on Wonwoo eventually. The latter is completely awake now, gentle eyes waiting for Jihoon to finally be kind to himself.

“I still got nightmares. About that damned day,” Jihoon frowns at his own voice. He sounds so small, “Why did you save me? Why did you trade the stone for my life?”

He lets Wonwoo stretches his body first, loose shirt riding up as he lifts his arms and a sliver of skin above the waistband of his pants peeking out. Jihoon distracts himself by poking Wonwoo in the side, earning a protest from the latter. He thought Wonwoo would get up, back straight and one second away to be Jihoon’s psychologist.

With a grin, he pats the pillow gently instead and signalling Jihoon to lay down.

Jihoon complies without a word, shifting to find a comfortable position. He thought it’s easier not to look at Wonwoo for a while so he stares at the ceiling instead.

“Being a Sorcerer Supreme means I got the previlege to see a lot of alternative futures from coming conflicts. That also means I have to be careful of what I decide, what I can change and which one I can’t tamper with. We’re going to be doomed forever if we changed a slightest bit of it,” Wonwoo’s gaze fixed on Jihoon as he talks. “What happened to us that day was meant to happen. If we drove Maw back away from Earth, he’ll come back with greater force. Greater pain to drive us crazy.”

Jihoon remains quiet as Wonwoo continues, “I’m sorry I let you down. I let you get hurt and haunted by nightmares. I’m sorry I made you worry and doubting yourself for not being able to protect me. I can’t tell you what’s gonna happen or else it wouldn’t happen, I’m asking you to trust me.”

“I trust you,” Jihoon’s answer is quick it surprises himself. “I really do, Wonwoo.”

“That’s a relief,” Wonwoo says, voice growing softer. “You’re a great person, Lee Jihoon. Shouldering the burden of being hero were never easy, yet you’re still here. You’re still protect everyone.”

“But I let you down—Your hand—Okay, it might meant to happen, but if only I could do something—“

“You can’t, Jihoon. You have to accept this, to drown in grief and get back up again. Because you’re a human, too. You need friends, people who care about you. People that makes you fight all those villains. Experiments that you pour your heart into, things that you look forward tomorrow and you’re not gonna let them destroy it. You grief for people you can’t save, you relish in the sea of gratitude from others. You strive for the best. It’s a proof that you’re human, above all the things.”

Jihoon takes a long, shaky breath. He feels like he wants to cower under Wonwoo’s scrutiny, wants to run away from hearing his own vunerability.

“Because that’s what make you a hero, with being human and scared of the fear. To feel the fear so immensely you started to tremble. Because when you fight it, you’re a hero.”

And that’s where the silent tears start to stream down his face.

He doesn’t sob, doesn’t even make a sound when Wonwoo reaches to wipe the droplets away. Slow but sure, Wonwoo gathers him in a firm, gentle hug and Jihoon let himself feeling the sincerity from those strong arms that holds him.

“You’re not helpless. You have me,” Wonwoo mumbles against the top of his head, letting the strands of Jihoon’s black hair tickling his chin. “You have Junhui. Soonyoung. And Woozi. Everyone is rooting for you. But above all, you have me.”

Jihoon lets out an ugly, garbled snort. “You’re only useful when I need food.”

“Well, that’s a start,” Wonwoo says with a teasing tone. “We have each other, Jihoon.”

There’s a rush of one particular feeling to Jihoon’s heart. He lifts his head to stare at Wonwoo, feeling a shaky hand rests on his cheek and he leans into the touch. Jihoon had never been this close to anyone and it makes himself feel naked, he can’t barely contain his own feelings.

“What are we?”

“Anything that you want us to be—“ Wonwoo licks his bottom lip and Jihoon can’t help but to stare at his movement. “As long as we’re together.”

Jihoon is the one who closes the gap between them. Lips on lips, soul on soul. He grabs Wonwoo’s shirt tight as he open his mouth and let Wonwoo take the lead. One loud sigh escapes between the kiss when Wonwoo pulls him closer, arms circling Jihoon’s hip. Jihoon can barely get enough. He run his fingers on Wonwoo’s nape and taking pleasure to watch Wonwoo pliant in his touch before they share another kiss.

He wants this. He wants to feel all kind of feelings, he want to feel it with Wonwoo.

Time is sort of forgotten between stealing pecks and exploring fingers. Jihoon can feel his eyes drooping when Wonwoo’s fingers ghosting on his spine. He doesn’t want this night to be over yet.

“Sleep, Ironboy,” he can hear Wonwoo whispering. He can feel Wonwoo nuzzling into his neck, lips steady on his bare shoulder. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

And Jihoon knows he will.

 

۞

 

“Hoonie?”

Wonwoo closes the portal before putting down all the groceries he just bought in the kitchen counter. He doesn’t see Jihoon anywhere.

“Woozi, is Jihoon out for class already?”

‘ _No, sir. He’s at the workshop._ ’

As far as he knows, Jihoon will lock himself in the workshop if he has something experimental in mind and it drives him mad if he doesn’t finish it soon, or when he is stressed out. It’s almost a nature for him to find Jihoon drawing mindless workplan when something bothers him, refuses to get out for days.

Wonwoo finds him pacing in his workshop, blueprints abandoned. Jihoon catches him walk in and he almost run straight to him. With nervous tone, he asks, “You sure about this?”

“About what?” Wonwoo furrows his eyebrows at that.

“With us, you know, together—“

Jihoon frowns when Wonwoo answers with nothing but a snicker. “Hey, I’m being serious!”

“We practically live with each other now. You even have a spare toothbrush in my place and you’re still asking me about this?”

“I was just asking—Wonwoo!”

Jihoon shrieks when Wonwoo hoists him up almost easily. He immediately get a tight grip on Wonwoo’s shoulder, “Jeon Wonwoo, put me down. Right now.”

“Not until you said yes for helping me to make our lunch right now.”

“Ha, you wish,” Jihoon opts to squish Wonwoo’s cheeks with both of his hands. “If you want to be with me, then you’re stuck with that alone.”

“No way!” Wonwoo protests.

Jihoon grumbles, leaning in to peck Wonwoo’s puckering lips before releases his cheeks. “You’re lucky I’m fond of you.”

“And that’s a progress,” Wonwoo grins widely, landing a kiss on Jihoon’s jaw. “Let’s go. Woozi told me your dad’s recipe for kimchi fried rice.”

A gasp escapes Jihoon’s lips. He lets Wonwoo put him back to the ground and with wide eyes, he says, “Okay scratch that, I love you.”

Wonwoo’s laughter rings across the room and then he says the words back.

“I love you too.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**EPILOGUE**

“Let’s go on a date.”

Wonwoo shifts his gaze from the laptop to his boyfriend. “Sure? In what occassion?”

“To make up all of our canceled dates thanks to the hero duty!” Jihoon says, sarcasm dripping from his words but it’s harmless for Wonwoo. “There’s a new show in the aquarium downtown.”

“Alright then, let me change into something proper,” Wonwoo gets up and land a kiss on Jihoon’s temple.

A knocking sound suddenly echoes from the door and startles them both.

Jihoon, the ever so cautious one, follows Wonwoo to the door. After multiple canceled dates experience, he doesn’t really trust today.

Wonwoo opens the door and politely greets the stranger who’s standing before them.

“Jeon Wonwoo and Lee Jihoon?” the man asks and Wonwoo nods at that.

Something clicks in Jihoon’s head. He had seen this man somewhere on TV, saving people’s lives from another part of the globe. There’s something familiar with this man, with the way he carries himself; shoulders straight, imposing but not dominating. There’s a glint of kindness in his droopy eyes, along with strength. He looks like a leader. Apart from that, he looks like them too.

A hero.

“My name is Choi Seungcheol. Or maybe you’ve seen me on TV, under the name of Captain,” he says casually, staring at them with a friendly smile. “I would love to explain the whole thing to you but I needed to make it short for now. Thanos is coming to collect all the Stones.”

The mentioned name makes Jihoon hold his breath.

“We need you both to help us preventing that to happen. I’m recruiting heroes, if I must say it, something that my mentor called ‘The Avengers’. We need to be ready to fight him. We need you, Iron Man and Doctor Strange.”

Jihoon steals a glance at Wonwoo and he knows the answer.

The journey has begun.

**Author's Note:**

> kudos and constructive criticism are highly appreciated.  
> hmu in twt @jeonbaragi for more avengers!svt talk :D


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